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Showing your support to your loved one or friend who is trying to lose weight or get fit is so important. The support of our family and friends can sometimes make or break our decisions. If you’re not sure how to support them or show your admiration for their hard work this holiday season, I have scoured the internet for you to give you some great ideas on where to start! (Full disclosure before you read this article, it does contain affiliate links.) Enjoy!

Pepper Spray We all know women who like to run or walk down the block, at the track at a local college or high school, or even at the gym. Whether you’re leaving the gym to your parked car, or need a little extra security for that run outside at the local school facilities, pepper spray is the perfect gift for any woman in your life! Especially this tiny little compact bottle that looks just like a lipstick or perfume.

Itunes Gift Cards There’s nothing better than having some good tunes going when you’re getting your workout on. Music gift cards are always a welcome gift for your friend or loved one who is losing weight or getting their fitness on this holiday season.

Meal Prep Containers During weight loss, portion control is a huge deal, if your friend or loved one has been looking into meal prepping encourage them by buying them some meal prep containers!

Subscription To A Meal Kit Service Do you have a person in your life who is dedicated to losing weight, but they don’t know how to cook? Maybe they are a little confused to what a portion size should look like? Consider getting them a subscription to a meal kit service. These services will send out all of the ingredients they need, as well as detailed instructions on how to cook the recipes included in the kit.

Smoothie Blender If you have a friend who is really into making smoothies for weight loss, or maybe their blender broke and they’re missing their favorite smoothies in their diet. Perhaps your friend or loved one mentioned the desire to start making smoothies? This little gadget is perfect for making a single serving at a time with a take-a-long bottle.

Sweat Band Head Bands When you’re getting your workout on, there’s nothing worse than sweat flowing into your eyes and face. Sweat bands make a great, affordable gift for you to give to that friend or loved one who is making a huge lifestyle change.

Resistance Bands If you have a friend or loved one who isn’t ready to workout with weights, but desires to start somewhere, these are great! They give you a level of resistance, without being too much. They can also function as workout asisstance for those who may have trouble standing or being stable while working out.

Fitness Tracker When you think of a fitness tracker you may be thinking of the more expensive variety such as a fitbit, these are great little devices, but there are more affordable ones out there. Such as this cute purple one I found on Amazon. This is a great gift to encourage your friend or loved ones fitness endeavors. (It also comes in multiple colors!)

Headphones We all lose them, and they are so useful for everyday life. Having a good pair of headphones for those everyday workouts is a MUST! These make a great gift for the fitness buff, or friend/love one who is losing weight in your life.

Workout Journal Some people need to see their stats and progress on paper. If you have a friend or loved one who is into fitness or trying to lose weight, and is also super organized, this would be the perfect gift for them! It helps you to track your food and workouts in one easy place.

Motivational Jewelry What better way to show your support than giving your friend or loved one a piece of jewelry that lets them know that you’re behind them! Encouraging words engraved forever on a piece of metal, how could you go wrong?!

Workout Top What woman could resist this workout top? No matter who you are, humor is a good way to push through those workouts. Often times it can inspire others, and make them wonder where you got your workout gear from. 😉

With that we wrap up our list of 12 Supportive gifts for your fitness buff or friend/loved one losing weight. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comments below.

Today I had one of the most satisfying wins of my weight loss so far! It has been 4 YEARS since I have seen a 2 in front of my weight, and I won’t lie, it makes me giddy finally getting there after just 2.5 months of hard work. Granted, that only makes my weight loss a grand total of 20.4 lbs overall, the important thing is I am getting there!

Now you may be thinking, “Janna, you’re still morbidly obese and nearly 300 lbs, why are you celebrating?” I’m doing something about it, that’s why, I’m lapping all of the people sitting on their couches wanting to do what I’m doing. I’m not wishing or hoping anymore, I’m in the trenches making it happen. That’s something to be proud of. If you’re there with me, pat yourself on the back! You’re doing an excellent job just because you’re trying.

So far on my weight loss journey I have religiously worked out nearly every day, and mostly kept a close eye on everything that went past my lips and into my body. That is not to say that I have not struggled, and that this has not been an uphill battle for me when it comes to overeating and making bad food choices. My biggest struggles so far have been eating healthy when I’m visiting others or generally not at home, and working through being disappointed in my self when I don’t do things perfectly. It’s really hard not to give up when things don’t work out the way I think they should. But here I am, still plugging along and trying to be consistent so that I will make it to my goal weight at some point.

So, for today I am going to focus on the positive things that are coming from this struggle. I am making scale gains, and I am adding years to my life by doing this, and my energy levels and body have never felt better than I have in the last 3 months. It has been so worth it, and will be so worth it in the future!

A note to my future self:

Never forget where you started, and never stop trying to be better than you were yesterday. Also, stop buying cheap workout shoes if that’s something you’re still doing, you’ll still be regretting it.

Sincerely,

Past Self

Don’t forget, when you’re out there experiencing your journey may your feet never ache, your willpower never fade, and your mind always stay focused on the prize at the end of the road.

If you would like to write a note to your future self, feel free to share it in the comments below. If you’ve recently had a win, I want to hear about it. We can use all the encouragement in the world on our personal journeys, and talking about our wins is a huge way to encourage ourselves and others!

This is me today, singing out loud while I walk 1.5 miles. I may or may not have been singing the theme song to Moana, luckily you can’t hear a picture. Sorry to the neighbors that heard me!

I know I look rough, that’s the nature of working out. Let’s be honest, I’m not trying to impress anybody or look my best while I’m drenched in sweat and hoping that my workout pants aren’t riding up. I’m just trying to get healthy. I’m also trying to remember to breathe while I workout.

I don’t hit the gym for my workouts, instead I hit the road. I decided that the best place for me to start is getting comfortable with fitness is in my own back yard. (figuratively speaking of course)

This time of year in Texas is nice and breezy without being too hot or too cold. I worked up a pretty good sweat, although you can’t tell because there was an excellent breeze blowing.

30 second modified plank (straight body with knees on the floor instead of on your toes)

Wall pushups 30 reps

Squats 30 reps

Walking 1.5 miles or more depending on what I’m feeling that day. Some days I can do more, my best so far is 4.3!

Don’t worry if you’re not where I’m at in your weight loss journey, everybody starts somewhere. I did not begin here, this is 2 months of hard work after living a mostly sedentary life. Just start somewhere, you can do it!

Please feel free to comment, like, and share! I am more than willing to answer questions, or fill requests. Remember, when fleeing obesity run, don’t walk!

When you start on a huge life changing endeavor, like weight loss, there are some pearls of wisdom that I think everyone should know. I believe that these 10 things apply to everyone starting out (IE low fitness level) no matter your weight.

Don’t start out with a crazy intense workout program. I know that when fitness becomes a goal many people immediately believe that they have to get into some kind of intense workout program in order to achieve their weight loss or fitness goals. This simply isn’t true, and can lead to injury, or can lead to you just plain giving up. If you’re just starting out the best thing you can do, rather than burn a bunch of money on an intense workout program, is to start out with some beginner or intermediate workout videos on youtube. You can also find some light strength training routines on the internet in many different places that will help you build your muscles up so that you can get started on that p90x, or the 10 day shred without seriously hurting yourself.

You can do modified versions of nearly any workout with the same results. If you are morbidly obese or have a very low fitness level, and find that you can’t do simple exercises like the people you watch in the videos, that’s okay! There are modified versions of most exercises, and many fitness youtubers often times will show you both the regular and modified versions of the workouts they are doing. Don’t feel obligated to do the regular version if your body is telling you that you simply can’t, this can lead to serious injury and set back your fitness goals even further. Listen to your body!

Make small simple changes in your diet when just starting out. On day one many people feel obligated to go into their kitchen and throw all the bacon in the trash, and replace all of the “bad” food with healthier food. This can be a workable plan if you’re going to compete on the biggest loser, or some other TV program. However, for the rest of us, the big lifestyle changes don’t happen over night. If you are drinking soda pop every day, start with cutting that out. If you are eating fast food every day, start making at least one meal a day at home and move on from there. The best way to form good habits is to start small, and work your way up from there.

Do daily things to keep yourself motivated. Let’s face it, weight loss is hard. That’s a cold hard fact, especially when you are starting out. You have to keep up your motivation in order to see this thing through! Many people make motivation walls, or they post pictures of people they want to look like, or they put up inspirational quotes all around them to constantly remind them of their goals. All of these things are great, but they may not work for you. Find what motivates you, what makes you want it, what keeps you going back for more no matter how down or lazy you are feeling.

Understand that not everyone is going to support you. It’s one of the worst parts of getting started on your weight loss journey, one of the few things that will stand in your way more than anything else. You get excited, and you get started, and you get pumped, and you are loving every minute. Then you share this new exciting wonderful thing with your friends, coworkers, or spouse and you find that they say some really negative or mean things to you about it instead of being supportive like you had expected/hoped. (“I don’t have to do this with you do I?” or “Girl you look good the way you are, losing weight is over rated!” or “Ugh, fitness is a lot of work, so are you coming to the work party at the bar/restaurant tonight? We should have the nachos!”) This can cause your enthusiasm to come to a dead halt, it can make you doubt yourself, and it can make you give up. Don’t let it! You should be doing this for you, not for them, don’t expect others to approve and don’t wait for them to support you. There are many communities online and offline that you can join and get the support you need and are seeking.

What works for others may not work for you. You’ve been doing tons of research and you’ve found what you believe is the best diet to lose weight, you start on this diet and are a month in and find that you aren’t getting the results you should be. Don’t be discouraged! Weight loss is not an exact science there are factors to consider before you find what works for you and your body. Medical conditions, fitness level, medications, diet, exercise routine, water intake etc etc all contribute to your overall health and weight loss. If you find that one thing isn’t working for you, try something else.

Drink lots of water. Water helps your body in so many ways, it’s the best drink for you health wise. Smoothies and protein shakes are great when you need them for a snack or after a workout, but water should take priority when you start feeling thirsty on your weight loss journey.

If you are feeling confused and don’t know where to start, walk. There’s so much advice and information out there, so many different programs and fitness coaches telling you to do this or that or don’t do this or that. It can all be really confusing, and lead you to really just not know where to start or what to do. If you have a low fitness level and are just starting out, the best thing you can do is simply walk. Walk a lot, walk everywhere, keep yourself moving and walk fast or slow depending on what your body can handle. Just get moving! You will get faster as you go.

If you find yourself with uncontrollable food cravings eat celery or pickles. We all have those hard days where we are just craving food, especially when we are first starting the cravings can be insatiable. Don’t deprive your body, but at the same time make wise choices. Celery and pickles have no calories, more specifically the calories they do have you burn off while chewing so they are negligible. If you find yourself in a hard spot and are dedicated to staying on track, get out the celery or pickles and get past that hump without the guilt. (Also keeping in mind that pickles can be extremely high in sodium as well, so if you eat them, do so sparingly.)

Love yourself. There will be set backs in this journey, there will be times when you give in to cravings, there will be times where you stand on the scale and have a moment of self loathing. Don’t stay in those moments, love yourself, love your body, and keep in mind that you are a work in progress. Love yourself enough in those moments to keep going, and deep down accept that you are a human being who is worth being loved even when you disappoint yourself.

I sincerely believe that these 10 things can help you succeed in your weight loss journey. Good luck with your efforts and may the pounds fall off like butter, may you never slip in a puddle of your own sweat, and may you get better, faster, and stronger with every day!

Please leave a comment and feel free to share on social media! Be sure you link to my article and give credit if you use my content. Thanks!

As anything starts, and everything has a beginning, this is mine. I’m just like you, or any other person looking to get healthy and live a more full life. Since we are virtual strangers, let me introduce myself, and tell you a little about me.

My name is Janna, I am a mother of 3 beautiful children, the wife of a pretty awesome guy, and the proud owner of this blog. I like to read, be creative, hang out with my children, I aspire to be a business owner some day, I like to hike, I like to take walks, I love my dogs, and I love to shop. I currently have a love/hate relationship with fitness, I love it and I love doing it, but just like you I have bad days with low motivation and just general laziness. Currently I weigh 304 lbs, down from my highest weight of 320 lbs. I have lofty goals of someday reaching my goal weight of 150 lbs.

I plan to use this blog as a documentation of my personal fitness journey. I plan on doing weekly updates of progression/regression, and I plan on being raw and open about my struggles and successes. I hope you’ll join me on my journey and laugh, cry, and cheer with me along the way!

If you’ve found this blog, welcome! Feel free to add some encouragement in the comments, I kindly ask that any opinions voiced here are positive in nature.